Unit sales of flat-screen TVs including OLED TVs in Japan increased for the 15th consecutive month in June 2021, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

In June 2021, shipments of 4K TV reached 329,000 units, growing for 16 consecutive months; shipment of OLED TV increased to 74,000 units, surging by a record-high 63.9% on year.

In the first six months of 2021, the total shipments of flat-screen TV increased by 20.9% on year, reaching 2.79 million units; shipments of 4K TV and OLED TV grew respectively by 29.1% and 92.5% on year.

GFK forecasts that TV sales in Japan this year will increase to 6.2 million units, from six million in 2020 and five million in 2019. Demand for TV was already high due to the rise of stay-at-home economy and got even hotter with the Olympics finally opening in Japan.

Industry sources indicated that considering current shipping traffic and shortage of IC materials, some vendors have begun stockpiling panels earlier than usual, and demand for panels will drop in the fourth quarter, with pricing likely to go down.

TV panel prices have been rising in 2021. The persistent chip shortage has left the TV makers no choice but to focus on larger and high-end TVs over medium and small TVs.

As a result, the overall global TV shipments are projected to grow by only 1.4% on year in 2021, totaling 220 million units.

By DIGITIMES